HYDERABAD, June 3: Colleagues, friends and students of Dr Aftab Qureshi, who was kidnapped in Karachi on May 12 and killed in a botched rescue operation in Hyderabad on Wednesday have described him as an energetic, tireless, humble and down-to-earth professional.

He worked hard and with devotion and the vacuum created by his death could not be filled easily. He was always ready to help people and had a special place in his heart for those coming from his village in Naushahro Feroze.

“He was a simple and unassuming person, always ready to work for hours,” said Dr Riaz Raja, associate professor of neurology in Liaquat University of Medical and Health Sciences (LUMHS), Jamshoro.

He never shirked work, supervised examinations in the College of Physicians and Surgeons, Pakistan, in Karachi in the evening and then took classes in the LUMHS the next morning.

He nursed no grudge against anyone and never quarrelled with anyone. He was kind to his juniors and never looked down upon anyone, he said.

Associate professor of medicine Dr Imran Ali Sheikh said the vacuum created by Dr Qureshi’s death would not be filled in decades. “There are only a few people in Sindh and in Karachi who can match his qualities but none of them can be as energetic as he was,” said Dr Sheikh.

He described him as humble person and always ready to help others. He always helped his colleagues and offered a helping hand to people coming from his village.

“During Ramazan he would keep his clinic open till Sahri and offer Sahri to patients….same was the case with Iftar. He looked after many seminaries and mosques in his district,” he said, adding that few people would be able to take his place in the field of neurology in Sindh.

Assistant professor of neurology Dr Vasdev recalled how Dr Qureshi single-handedly worked for years to help establish a neurology ward in the Hyderabad civil hospital. And now he has left at least half a dozen trained neurologists who learnt from him and worked under his guidance.

“I was trained by him,” he said with pride. Dr Qureshi used to handle all neurology related cases. “He was polite and never held any grudge against anyone,” he said, adding he always covered mistakes of his juniors.

Dr Sohail Khanzada, another student of the late neurosurgeon, said Dr Qureshi once encouraged him to operate upon a patient in his presence although it was his third day in the neurology ward.

He said he was shocked that many people who were financially helped by Dr Qureshi did not show up at his burial.

Dr Agha Taj said that he had advised Dr Qureshi to take care of his health after he recovered from a major illness and he replied that he was reviewing his routine because his family also had advised him to cut down on work.